image: todaysart.org

The Acid House: An acid trip and a bolt of lightning result in amiable schemie Coco Brice exchanging bodies with the baby of a middle class couple. (Wikipedia)

Your moniker, Coco Bryce, does that have anything to do with the character Coco Brice in Paul McGuigan film, The Acid House, which was adapted from Irvine Welsh’s short story collection?

Yup, that’s exactly where I got my name from.
 

 
On the Fremdtunes bio, it says you’re a ‘dadistic omnivore’. Naturally, we had to look up dadaism again.

Dadaism: A European artistic and literary movement (1916-1923) that flouted conventional aesthetic and cultural values by producing works marked by nonsense, travesty, and incongruity.

Right… What’s your take on ‘flouting conventional aesthetic and cultural values’ in terms of the work you produce? Would you say this is what you aim to do?

Well I hope my tunes don’t all come across as nonsense (laughs), though, funnily enough, I did actually make two tracks a little while ago which both had the word ‘travesty’ in their respective titles.

As far as an ‘aim’ goes, I don’t think I really have one, except for making tunes I like to play and listen to myself. I don’t set out to flout anything, it’s just that I’ve always listened to all kinds of music, never just one particular style, and I always end up making stuff that doesn’t fit 100% into a certain genre. Except for perhaps some of the bootleg crunk remixes and breakbeat rave stuff… those are pretty straight forward.

To be honest, I don’t really know why the Fremdtunes lot call me ‘Dadaistic’… I should probably give Rogier a call and tell him to stop talking shit about me on the Fremdtunes page (laughs).

You started DJing nearly 20 years ago. What was the scene like then and how did you get involved?

Back then I was mainly a hardcore and breakbeat DJ; I don’t really go to any hardcore parties anymore, so I couldn’t tell you the difference even if I wanted to. I do know, however, that by the time I stopped going to those kinds of nights, it was all starting to get a lot more racist, but that’s also a long time ago, so I don’t have a clue what it’s like right now.

The parties and festivals I play nowadays seem a lot more open to different kinds of styles. It seems like a lot of the kids today actually love to hear all kinds of stuff as opposed for example a straight-up drum ‘n bass set or non-stop hip-hop. You have to switch things up a bit, keep it interesting, which, needless to say, is exactly my cup of tea. But that’s just my experience you know. I bet there’s still tons of people that just want to hear techno 24/7, which is fine, just not my thing, I like some variety.

I started DJing because, well, I loved music. A couple of friends from school already had a set of turntables and the rest of us would just chill and hang out with them and take turns trying to mix records. I loved it right away, convinced my parents to let me plunder my savings account, and got myself a pair of really shitty belt-drive turntables.

The transition to producing, was this a natural step for you and how has being a DJ influenced/helped you as a producer?

Yeah I think it all came about pretty naturally. When you’ve been DJing for a little while, you’re going to want to make some tunes yourself as well at some point. At least I did.

I’m not sure any of it’s ever really helped me, being a DJ first, but it most definitely influenced the way I produce tracks.

Especially in the first couple of years I used to always make sure my tunes had a mixable intro. More often than not I’d start out with nothing but beats you know, just for mixing. Now, I don’t focus on making them ‘mixable’ as much as I used to, I just want my songs to sound nice from beginning to end. But I think it’s still evident even to this day, that I’m also a DJ. I was talking to my homie Jukka (aka Skweee producer VC) about this the other day. He never DJ’d and his stuff is just so damn hard to mix (laughs). I told him to make his stuff more DJ-friendly, but I don’t think he cares, he’s too real to be concerned about stuff like that.

Coco Bryce – “Club Tropicana”

Some have suggested that artists like Skrillex are the reason for dubstep’s so-called ‘demise’, or it moving from underground to mainstream. What’s your take on this?

Who even cares about dubstep? I never liked any of the early dubstep stuff anyways, I always thought it was incredibly boring and I didn’t even get into it until Joker and Zomby and them guys started releasing records. As far as Skrillex goes, I think he’s super good at what he does. It’s not necessarily my cup of tea, but I have nothing bad at all to say about Skrillex. If anything, in my opinion he only made dubstep better, because it couldn’t have gotten any worse than it was when it first started out. All the hating, it’s just jealousy. You can’t blame someone for being successful you know, if they do it with passion it’s all good, whether I’m a fan or not. It’s what the youngsters like to hear and dance to. I mean, I used to listen to Gabber when I was 16, so I’m pretty sure I’d listen to Skrillex and that kind of stuff as well if I were that age right now. It’s loud and has a lot of energy to it. Ain’t nothing wrong with that. And I think there’s still a ton of guys making the shitty ‘old school’ dubstep stuff, so if you don’t like Skrillex, then go and listen to that other stuff instead. Don’t hate on the dude just because there’s a lot of people who like his tunes.

Is there even such a thing as underground anymore when it comes to electronic music?

Skweee is still pretty underground. And it’ll probably stay that way as well. Mainly because it sucks balls, but also because a lot of it is only released on vinyl.

Besides that, I reckon there’s still a lot of stuff barely anyone knows about. A lot of music has become much more accessible because of the internet, but you still have to know where to look. The only difference is that you don’t have to rely on the record stores anymore to keep the weird shit in stock in order to come across it. If you really want to find new music it’s a lot easier to do so currently, but you still need to dig.

You teamed up with Tokyo native Emufucka for a collaborative 7” on Fremdtunes under the moniker Cocofucka. Any South African artists you’d like work with from across the seas and will Cocofucka be releasing any new stuff in the future?

Hmmmm… well, the only South African artists I know of are DJ Mujava, Die Antwoord and Jack Parow. I’m up for a collab with either one of them! No doubt there’ll be some more Cocofucka stuff in the future, I just don’t have any idea yet as to when this is going to happen, but we definitely have plans to do some more remixes and collabs.

In a 1982 Keyboard Magazine review of the LinnDrum it indirectly referred to The Roland TR-808 as sounding like marching anteaters. What do you think it sounds like?

I think that’s a pretty apt description. I love the sound of marching anteaters. It makes me want to dance.

Keen to collaborate with any trap music producers, maybe Waka Flocka or Gucci Mane?

I’d definitely be up for that yeah. Though I’ll stick to bootlegging them for now. No pressure.

Girl Skateboards – Mouse from ekkun on Vimeo

I read that you also skateboard. I’ve discovered so much music from watching skate videos. What’s your favourite skate video? Have you seen any of Pontus Alv‘s films, such as In Search of the Miraculous?

Ahhh yeah, I think three quarters of my musical education came from skate videos , especially in the ’90s. I’ve discovered so much brilliant stuff watching those. My all-time fav is Mouse (Girl Skateboards/Chocolate), everything is just perfect about that video, they had the illest teams back then, the dopest songs and it wasn’t as mega super big as it is right now.
I haven’t actually seen any of Pontus Alv’s videos, though I remember watching his parts when he was riding for Mad Circle, which by the way is one of my fav companies that’s now out of business, along with the almighty 101. I still have this Mad Circle jumper laying in my closet. Classic.

Rogier (Fremdtunes) and Mashville formed the SEE-A-SOUND organisation. If someone had to send you your track ‘That’s Life’ off Club Tropicana and ask you to illustrate it… What would we see?

Probably just all kinds of different textures, keep it a bit abstract. I think that particular tune features a good blend of organic and digital sounds, like the synths in that one sound really nasty, in-your-face and electronic, which is contrasted by the Asian vocal snippets and crunk-influenced blunt beats. So, I’m thinking metallic-looking textures for the synths, and then maybe a couple of Asian girls chanting the chopped-up lyrics. Abstracted Asian girls though, else the first part of my answer would not make any sense (Dadaism).

What was the production process like for Club Tropicana? What keeps you inspired during the long hours?

I just make tunes whenever I have the time for it and never really set out to work on a certain project beforehand. Club Tropicana, like my first album Boesoek, is basically just a collection of songs which I’ve made over the years preceding its release. I try to make my albums as coherent as possible though, but the selection is only done after all the tracks are finished. I don’t usually make songs with a certain release in mind. I did maybe two tracks with my album in mind, but funnily enough both of them didn’t even make the cut. Inspiration usually just comes from listening to other music.

The colourful, swirling, mashing, mixing low-fi video Club Tropicana – is this an apt insight into the album’s overall sound and mood?

I don’t know, you tell me. It probably is for the biggest chunk of the album, but if you take ‘All Day’ for example, that one has quite a different mood, much more laid back.

What are some of the sonic differences we can hear in Club Tropicana in comparison to your first album?

Club Tropicana is much more diverse. My first album was basically just hip-hop. A weird, electronic kind of hip-hop, but still pretty much everything on that first one was just my version of boom-bap. This one has all kinds of stuff I’ve always done a lot of different styles and genres, but I think at the time of my first album I kind of felt like I should stick to Hip Hop stuff as far as the releases under my Coco Bryce moniker went. Now it’s all over the place.

What did you dream of being when you were a child?

Older.

Tell me something about yourself that we cannot find on the internet?

Motëm and I are actually the same person.

Plans to ever visit South Africa?

If anyone books me a gig there! I’m always broke, so if I’d have to go there on my own expenses I don’t think it’d happen any time soon.

What’s on your playlist today?

Milk & Honey by Cohenbeats. It’s a free album on Bandcamp, you should definitely cop it. The concept has been done to death: pick a country, get records from said country and make beats with the samples, but this album is so well executed, even the lesser tunes on there are super nice. It’s been on repeat since I downloaded it a couple weeks ago. I’ve also been listening to that fake Jai Paul album a lot. And then there’s always a couple of light club songs and old rave breakbeat tunes in my playlist. Can’t go without my daily dose of pianos and pitched vocals now can I?

The most inspiring experience you’ve had this year (not on the internet!)

Don’t know yet about this year, but last year was definitely this gig I played in Zürich. So nice.

The dodgiest thing you’ve ever seen? (on the internet!)

Hmmm… probably a U2 music video.

Coco Bryce & DisPjutR at Next Level Shit w/ Om Unit, 123MRK, Zes & more

Give some of your own love to Coco Bryce:

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Interview: Sarah Claire Picton
Images: Coco Bryce, Next Level Shit, 20shotsequence, todaysart.org

This documentary looks at online connectivity around the world. It dips into the memories of prominent people within the industry to highlight the challenges they faced before the public was sold on the notion of technological connectivity. Insightful interviews from Caterina Fake, founder of Flickr; Eric Wahlforss, co-founder of SoundCloud; and Ola Ahlvarsson, CEO of Keynote Media, give us an inside view on connectivity. The documentary also gets their opinions on where the connected world is going. (Length: 20:56)
 
 
 
 

TILT – Panic Room

TILT – PANIC ROOM from BIG ADDICT on Vimeo.

A unique piece on the creative power of street art in general and tagging in particular. ‘Panic Room’ began when the Au Vieux Panier hotel asked the graffiti artistTilt to design a room for them. He responded by saying that he wasn’t interested in merely decorating a room but rather in creating something that looked more like an installation piece. Tilt thought about how a specific composition could communicate the notion of chaos and saw the entire room as a massive blank canvas. His approach was to manipulate the empty white part of the room to play up the feeling of chaos in the other. This footage shows him and a friend, a hip-hop singer with an old-school tagging style, working on the room. It took them one week to complete the project. (Length: 07:45)
 
 
 
 
Petite Noir – ‘Till We Ghosts’

Petite Noir – Till We Ghosts from Petite Noir on Vimeo.

It’s rare for artists to cut through the humdrum of contemporary music. And rarer are artists like Petite Noir who can be different while appealing to a wider audience. They’ve said that they’re trying to pioneer a genre called ‘new wave with a hint of an African Aesthetic feel to it’. It is a chunky mouthful of a label but it accurately sums up their sound. What sets them apart from everything else on the airwaves right now is their distinctly pan-African sound: their rhythm, their guitar melodies and certainly Yannick Ilunga’s voice.

 
 
 
 
Camcorded – A Fashion Film

Conrad Roselt’s short black and white fashion video is filmed with a camcorder and plays with yours emotions. With the help of volunteers and friends, and set in diverse everyday locations, this is a personal project that Conrad has created for his portfolio. Take two minutes out to watch a sexy and unique take on interactive fashion. (Length 02:18)
 
 
 
 
All Hail The Beat | Nelson George

All Hail The Beat | Nelson George from Focus Forward Films on Vimeo.

Even though stores haven’t carried the TR-808 since 1984, this drum machine has earned its place as one of the most iconic instruments in music history. All Hail the Beat sums up the Roland TR-808’s legacy in slightly less than three minutes. The device will be familiar to many music fans as the source of the percussion in Marvin Gaye’s ‘Sexual Healing’. It was also a great creative catalyst within the music business because its cheap price made it affordable to struggling artist around the world.
 
 
 
 

What’s Your Story? The faces behind ‘Brave’

The music video of ‘BRAVE’ – the latest song from Lark feat. Haezer – is a frantic animated journey into a surreal future. Forest elements and artificial transformation of our robotic impersonators create the fabric of a new and uncharted universe. This is a behind-the-scene exclusive interview with Tevan Baitz, Topher Henny and Wynand Lens, the creators of this anime-inspired music video.
 
 
 
 

‘This’ Music Video – Modeselektor ft. Thom Yorke

Gernot Bronsert and Sebastian Szary are the Berlin electronic dance duo known as Modeselektor. They have been making music together since 1992 and, with the release of three albums, have been an unstoppable force ever since. Their latest album Monkey Town features a long-time fan of theirs: Thom Yorke. This music video for the track ‘This’ features a girl handling a marionette doll in a derelict toy room and is as eerie as it is unpredictable. (Length 04:17)

Signed to sSHADOWORKSs, Steve Elsworth aka Audiophile021 is an unquantifiable music powerhouse. one small seed spends a bit of time with Steve, from his base at the Red Bull Studios to playing live at The Assembly on the 11 May 2012 and at the Cape Town Electronic Music Festival on the 31 March 2012. Turn up the volume – here’s a taste of Audiophile021. (Length 02:37)

The head sound engineer of Red Bull Studios Cape Town by trade, he spends most of his life enveloped in chords and rhythm. A DJ and producer – he perfectly marries solid production steeped in pure quality and original style, all the while making and playing tracks that rock a crowd to the floor boards. Initially rooted in rock and metal, Audiophile021 quickly began flirting with electronic music, and his love affair with crunchy basslines and body-thumping drums rapidly grew into obsessive passion.

Picture by Adriaan Louw Taken At The Assembly

Audiophile021 – The Frown – Metallic Kiss (Audiophile 021 Remix)

Picture By Adriaan Louw Taken At The Assembly

 
Photos: Adriaan Louw

Source: sShadworksS, SoundCloud, Facebook

Claude VonStroke & Jaw - Le Fantôme, image: slothboogie.com

‘Claude VonStroke teams up with Jaw, lead singer of the notorious dOP crew, for a trippy slab of modern funk. This marks the very first time VonStroke has worked with a singer and we think the results are superb. Jaw’s smooth falsetto harks back to singers such as Curtis Mayfield and the backing track is filled with trademark dirtybird flavor. The record is a slow building jam that grows into an almost church-like resolution, filled with spiraling space echoes and organs that are sure to set off all the right rooms.’ (SoundCloud)
 
 
 
 

Bears - "Be Strong", image: prefixmag.com

Take a listen to the latest release from London-based musical duo The 2 Bears
titled Be Strong, which was released on January 30 on Southern Fried Records/DFA. The 2 Bears (Joe Goddard of Hot Chip and Raf Rundell) produce beats that incorporate various styles including 2-step, house, hip-hop and soul. Pop-hip-house, liquid-bmore-house-step and rave-garage are some of descriptions critics have attributed to the duo. (WikiPedia)
 
 
 
 
 

Burial - 'Kindred': image: dubstep101.com

‘Kindred’ is a 12-minute-long track on Burial’s new three-track EP, Kindred. Burial (William Bevan) is an electronic producer from London whose debut self-titled in 2006 took Album of the Year in The Wire magazine. Pushing sound design to new levels, this track is for the true Burial fans. Download the EP here.

Petit Noir - Till We Ghosts/The Dance

‘’Till We Ghosts/The Dance’ is a track off the new Petite Noir EP ‘Till We Ghosts. Petite Noir is the first solo project by IAMWAVES (Yannick Ilunga), one half of the Cape Town-based nu fisco outfit Popskarr. ‘Till We Ghosts is his second release after his first EP Maison Noir, which we reviewed in Issue 23 of one small seed. Photograph by Thomas Pepler.

War, image: scdistribution.com

‘…War is a band who falls somewhere between Daily Void and Trust…The b-side, ‘Brodermordet,’ is a about fratricide, specifically Cain and Abel’s.’ (Sacred Bones, SoundCloud). Released on February 21 by Sacred Bones Records. Check out more tracks from Sacred Bones HERE

 
 
 
 
images: dubstep101.com, scdistribution.com, mp3blogger.com, prefixmag.com, slothboogie.com, Thomas Pepler

‘(disappointed cloud) anyway’ is the first song to be taken from Leila’s latest album titled U&I. Harsher, shook up and rebooted, the song features the haunting vocals of Berlin based producer Mt. Sims. (Warp) Check out the full album review in the latest issue of one small seed.

From the recordings that produced Drums Between the Bells – the collaboration between Brian Eno and British poet Rick Holland – comes a six-track EP titled Panic Of Looking. WIRED Magazine calls Eno’s soundscapes, ‘a tapestry of pillowy synths, minor-key melodies, chiming guitars and skittering drums.’

Pretoria born, Cape Town-based, Cold Turkey co-founder and owner Rebel Clef just put together this mellow mood jam. It’s a remix of DJ Shadow‘s recent ‘Scale it Back ft. Little Dragon’

Renier Santoz, a practically unknown Brazilian DJ just hit a massive remix of Dada Life‘s Happy Violence. Wait for the drop

New Essential Mix from 19-year-old legend Porter Robinson. Robinson had a big year in 2011, touring with Tiësto and Skrillex. He made debut appearances at Electric Daisy Carnival, Ultra Music Festival and Electric Zoo–the biggest electronic music festivals in the United States. This hour long set was dropped on BBC Radio1 28 Jan 2012. Enjoy!

DJ Kue is an up an coming DJ that has provided official remixes for the like of Foster the People, Wiz Khalifa and Mike Posner. He has an uncanny ability to turn bubbly pop songs into hardcore jammers. The man seldom disappoints with his remixes.

Here is a new track from deadmau5, one of the world’s biggest DJs and Producers. He hits hard with crunchy electro bass in this new track, which was released 16 January 2012.

3LAU (pronounced (BLAU) is a 21-year-old House/Bootleg/Remix producer from Las Vegas that cites Deadmau5, Steve Angello, Porter Robinson, Avicii, and Calvin Harris as major influences

 
 
 
 
 
Images: digi10ve.com, magneticmag.com, djkue.net, dialogueinc.com, dropbeatsnotbombs.com, earmilk.com, room-noise.com, warp.net, bleep, timeout.jp, Rebel Clef photo by Adriaan Louw © Assembly

Sometimes finding a diamond in the rough is as simple as blowing up the rock. That’s the idea behind Bleep’s Filtered competition in that they are welcoming any and all independent electronica musicians to submit their tracks.

Bleep partnering with Warp Records are giving young (and old) indie producers a chance to have their track A&Red, mastered, released, promoted, marketed and sold to the public. Along with Soundcloud and Transition studios the spotlight is going out so step up and take center stage. The tracks that are submitted will go through Warp’s A&R team who will ‘filter’ the tracks while Bleep continues to update everyone via Facebook.

The competition is currently ongoing still in it’s first stage, submission. Send in your tracks by following a few easy steps listed at this link, you have until September 9th 2011. Stage two will be the judging stages which will last until the 30th of September. In early October the tracks will go into mastering and a final compilation decided by the end of October. So you can see this is happening…fast. Don’t miss out, this could be your big break.